Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time(Click here for readings)
When the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the sea they were terrified. ...Peter said to him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come."
Come to me. For so many years of my life I was constantly asking the Lord to come to me.
Lord, be with me... Come to me... Assist me... Stay with me...
Blah! This wasn't right. It was an all too insincere and devious attempt to get myself off the hook from sanctity. What a child I was! How did I ever expect to grow in holiness and sanctity if all the work, all the risks and all the burdens rested upon Him and not on me? I needed to ask the Lord for the grace and the strength to come to Him, just like St. Peter did one story night: "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).
Throw yourself. Like a teacher, a mentor, a coach and a Father, the Lord is demanding more from His followers. Casting the net into the sea is no longer good enough for Him. The disciples must now throw themselves from the comfort of their boat into stormy waters and begin to walk on water. To be perfectly honest with you, I find the walking on water part the least interesting part of this entire Gospel passage, at least with regards to the demands of faith. Big deal? I view walking on water as no different from skydiving, or falling off a bridge or taking wedding vows on a stormy night! O you of little faith. Hey, those who skydive have great faith in their parachute. And those who enjoy bungee jumping have a lot of faith in the bungee cord. Finally, those who have faith in each other and in God take their vows happily and unconditionally. So what's the big deal with walking on water, especially if the Lord is standing next to you?
No, the toughest part in each one of these activities is taking that first step and jumping out. Taking a leap of faith.
Faith and happiness. This morning I read an article in the health section of the Washington Post. It was all about happiness. Of course, above the article was an ad for Viagra. I was not surprised.
The article began with some weird scenarios: "Do you remember a bad summer blockbuster you were forced to watch, or a blind date set up by your parents?" No, I don't. I continued reading..."Do you remember the last time you were dreading something, only to have it turn out to be a pleasant surprise?" Yes! Almost all the time!
Well guess what? Experts have determined that surprises make us happy! Wow! Hey! I already knew this! What's the big deal?
Unfortunately, the article (and researchers) never gets to the BIG DEAL! What's the BIG DEAL? It's faith. Faith makes life worth living because faith is constantly leading us to pleasant surprises!
It was faith in Jesus that led Peter out of the boringness of His boat and into the arms of Jesus Christ. It was the life of Christ that led Peter to take a giant leap of faith! And from this remarkable leap of faith, it led him to an incredible conclusion: "Truly, you are the Son of God."
Why are teenagers so boring? Because so many of them do what everyone expects them to do. They follow the herd. They put their head down during Mass. They don't open their mouths during adult conversations. They don't stand up for their faith. They don't rock the boat. They demand more than they ever give. They only talk to their friends and about things that don't really matter. They don't change their bed sheets and they don't change their clothes! How boring! The movie Animal House attempted to make college life appear exciting. Instead, it just made Jim Belushi famous. Boring.
Contrary to popular superficial culture, faith forces individuals to break the mold, to get out of America and into Africa; to work with Ebola victims; to spend entire summers eating rice and beans; to engage in controversial conversations regarding politics and ethics and religion; to go and do what no man or woman has done before: walk on water!
Now faith isn't about doing things. It's actually about changing things, especially people, especially oneself.
Let's get out of our boats and into deep water. Our happiness depends on our faith.
"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).
ReplyDeleteSimple things like spending time in Adoration, going to Confession, attending Daily Mass, praying the Rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet can completely change a life and turn things upside down. These small things allow us to fall in love with Jesus Christ! He is amazing and is there waiting for us in the Blessed Sacrament everyday. The more time we spend with Him, the more we want to spend. He loves us so very much, we simply have to go to Him!
Wow, thanks for that. What about married people? What kind of changes and surprises can we expect?
ReplyDeleteHow did I ever expect to grow in holiness and sanctity if all the work, all the risks and all the burdens rested upon Him and not on me?
ReplyDeleteI am impressed! I have heard this from only one other religious person who I highly respect!
Life is about risks! God is about risks! Parenting is about risks! How can it be any other way? Didn’t Jesus risk His life? (And it actually seemed that He lost.) Aren't we asked to give / risk our lives for others? Even though it is God who gives me the grace, the faith and the strength to risk, I have to take that step to prove to God (and more so to myself) that “this is how bad I want to be a saint”! I will do this for Him! If I am placed in this circumstance, I know God has a hand in it, and I must follow through to see what He brings of it.
Can you imagine a world that doesn’t take risks? Not moral risks, but everyday life risks that will in a way ‘force’ me to have courage….so that I will be able to use that courage in other areas of my life, so as to risk / give away other areas of my own life that I am holding onto too tightly. I trust God will continue to give me greater tasks if I can have the courage to risk the small ones.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who spent so much time with those who were dying said that the one thing that was true for those patients who had a difficult time in “letting go” was that they had some sort of regret – big or small - that they had to work through before they allowed themselves to pass. The regret wasn’t so much what they did; it was what they didn’t do.
“The greatest power is love. The greatest gift is sacrifice. The greatest sorrow is regret.” Don’t know who said it, but it seems to be true.
"Parenting is about risks"
DeleteAmen to that. The older I get I don't even think of things as risks because I know God is there to catch me, my children, my spouse as long as we are moving toward Him. Christ is the answer to all life's questions.
The thing I really liked that Father said was that we have to get off our duff and go to Him rather than asking Him to come to us. I, like Father, spent a lot of time asking Him to come to me. What a waste.
Great post, Father Alfonse!
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